Harvest of dance, words for Kongi

Unlike the proverbial prophet who is not honoured in his homestead, Professor Wole Soyinka, literary icon and Nobel laureate was recently celebrated in his hometown, Abeokuta, Ogun State capital. The man of letters who turned 75 on July 13 had one of his plays, Kongi’s Harvest staged at the Cultural Centre, Kuto, in commemoration of his birthday. Directed by Dr Tunde Awosanmi of the Theatre Arts Department, University of Ibadan, the play, which also had its cast and crew dominated by students of the department expectedly celebrated Soyinka’s vision for humanity. In the audience were Soyinka’s friends, theatre lovers, traditional rulers, youths, journalists and a handful of officials of the Ogun State government, which sponsored the performance.A play, which mirrors the tragic consequences of an inordinate lust for power and supremacy, Kongi’s Harvest centered on the tragic hero, Kongi (Kunle Agboola) and the excesses of his Aweri Fraternity- one of the three powerful forces in society. The play displayed a rather symbolic triple set, opening with Segi’s Nite club on the left side of the stage. The Aweri Fraternity occupied the center while Oba Danlola (Segun lafup Ogundipe) and his people were sighted at his detention camp on the right side of the stage. Segi’s club is a haven of some bohemian youth, who are daily reveling in alcohol and partying, and where the high and the low usually converge for relaxation. This is where Segi (Nike Bennett), who later became a heroine, always hosted her lovers, including Daodu (Similoluwa Hassan) who incidentally is Oba Danlola’s cousin. As people prepared for a harvest to mark the beginning of Five Year Plan of President Kongi, during which Kongi decided to first taste the new yam in public, his organising secretary (Toyin Osinnaike) sought Daodu’s help at Segi’s club. The mission was to get Daodu to convince his uncle to give Kongi the new yam in public glare and thereby assert his (Kongi’s) supremacy over Danlola who is the spiritual leader. Kongi’s mission was considered a desecration of traditional rites, but a crippled royalty like that of Oba Danlola was too weak to resist it. Kongi was bound to have his way, even at the expense of the people.Although amid intrigues and controversy, Daodu agreed to assist the secretary on condition that Kongi honoured his bid to free the five detainees, including Segi’s father. But on the day of harvest, Kongi reneged on his promise as Segi’s father who earlier escaped from detention was murdered. The tragedy sparked off revenge from Segi who abandoned her initial plans with Daodu to dance for Kongi, and went ahead to present Kongi with the head of an old man instead of the yam he wanted. Despite the secretary’s restlessness and Kongi’s mischief, the youth in essence paid Kongi in his coins, thus making him a prisoner of his own ambition. The play had a rhythmic pace that was buoyed by traditional music, proverbs and folklore. The music too facilitated a dramatic connection between the three worlds - the traditional leadership, the Aweri fraternity and the youthful team- headed by Segi and her heartthrob, Daodu.Unknown to Kongi and his men, wisdom had no limits and a leader cannot continue to deceive and oppress his people with impunity. Faced with reversal of expectation, Kongi met his Waterloo even from the most unsuspected source. With a repertoire of Yoruba (symbolic) songs, dance-steps and generous use of lights, the director was able to enhance the aesthetic quality of the play as total theatre. He also displayed his knowledge of Soyinka’s drama, using multiple sets, crowded and simultaneous scenes to depict a complex, yet thematically relevant play. Aside the directorial concept, the play received good interpretation from the cast as demonstrated by virtually all the characters. But a few lead characters like the Secretary, Kongi, Oba Danlola, Daodu, Segi, Dende (Segun Akintunde), Carpenters’Brigade leader (Gogo Ombo Gondo) were exceptional in their role interpretation.